


Young hearts run free

by Feetlicks



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: A whole mess and a lot of overthinking, Actually a lot of fluff, Also helicopter parents beware, Angst, Bang Chan as a tutor, Bang Chan is a Sweetheart, Basically Felix learning how to live, But I promise not a lot, Chan's really a glorified babysitter, Established Han Jisung/Seo Changbin, Felix is an anxious babie, Felix is homeschooled, Felix is like a sponge, Han Jisung | Han is a Sweetheart, He's very sheltered, It’s very briefly mentioned in chapter 3 but it’s there, M/M, Minho and Woojin come in chapter 3, Past childhood sexual abuse, They come in in chapter 2, Woojin actually comes in chapter 4 I lied
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-14
Updated: 2020-04-05
Packaged: 2021-03-01 02:09:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 22,044
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23147497
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Feetlicks/pseuds/Feetlicks
Summary: Felix had been nothing, felt nothing, until he met Bang Chan. Then he was everything.
Relationships: Bang Chan/Lee Felix, Han Jisung | Han/Seo Changbin
Comments: 40
Kudos: 137





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I've been wanting to write this for awhile but only got the actual courage and want now! Hope you'll enjoy it too, this is gonna be way more soft and warm than what I'm used to but also with some angst thrown in too.

The sun shone dimly through the windows, Felix blinking dumbly as he watched the street, watched the small dog and it’s owner walking down the pavement and turning at the corner. It had become a routine for him to watch the man and his pet, at eight in the morning sharp they would pass by his house, Felix’s eyes marveling at the soft fur of the animal.

He was perched up onto the armrest of the couch, watching as the wind blew the branches of the trees softly, people passing by his house, rushing through the streets to get to work and school. Felix’s fingers twitched as he carded them through his hair, tugging at the small tangled up strands, loosening them up. He could hear the doors of the house locking up and he knew that his mother had left for work. Normally it would have been at seven sharp, but this morning she had to call his new tutor, Felix trying to listen in on the conversation but he couldn’t catch anything clear.

So the boy stayed by the window, watching every person with curious eyes. Asking himself silently if they were his new tutor. Maybe it was the old woman? No, she walked past, turning the corner without glancing back. Maybe it was the man with the leather briefcase? Also no, he stopped by his house but got into a car in a minute, greeting the driver cheerfully.

Felix watched as people passed by, wondering just who exactly was going to be teaching him. It was probably going to be one of his father’s colleagues. Probably some fancy professor. Maybe someone who’s specializing in biology? Or maybe chemistry? The boy shuddered at that, remembering again how his parents had clearly told him that he was going to be successful, that he was going to be a doctor, maybe even a scientist, and will make them proud.

And he wanted to make them proud, he really did. But he had never been too interested in biology and chemistry. Maybe if it was physics, Felix could deal with it. His brows furrowed as he thought about the jumbled up mess that was his homework, always being scolded by his previous teacher about the mistakes he would make.

Maybe Felix would have even learned to like Chemistry and Biology, maybe could even love the subjects, if he wasn’t pushed so hard. His mind just shut down on him the moment he had to study lately, eyes blank and unseeing as he would try to focus on everything that he was being told.

The good thing about being homeschooled was that Felix had the attention of his teacher completely on him. But with his previous teacher scolding him every time he made a mistake, the boy had learned through the years that it was also a curse.

He watched as a brown haired man, probably only a few years older than him, walked down the street. His hair shone in the sunlight, giving him a soft glow. The curls being hid under a beanie. He seemed to be focusing on something in his hand, a phone? and Felix wondered how it would feel like to be as free as the man, to be able to wander around outside without the watchful eyes of his parents.

Felix was about to turn around and stalk into the kitchen, to grab something to snack on, when he heard the doorbell ring, furrowing his eyebrows and glancing outside again, not seeing anything as the doors were hidden by the protruding wall covered with vines.

The boy’s knees shook as he reached the hallway, anxiety levels rising up, fingers twitching almost painfully as he unlocked the doors, counting until five before he opened them up, meeting a pair of honey brown eyes. It was the glowy guy from outside. Felix noticed that his hair looked a bit dry at the ends but the curls gave him a warm look, eyes with a soft edge and lips curled into a small smile. “Yes? Could I help you with something?” the boy almost cursed at himself for sounding so pathetic, his voice trembling in the middle of the question.

“Yes! Is this the Lee household?” The boy tilted his head to the side in confusion, looking at the other for a few moments in a dazed fashion, eyes blank and mind empty. “Yes?” Felix was met with a blinding smile as the brown haired man looked at him while placing his phone back into his pocket.

Oh. _Dimples._

“Can I come inside?” The man was still smiling at him widely, Felix looking at him dumbly, mind jumbled up and lips parted in surprise. “Huh? Excuse me?” A chuckle traveled through the space between and settled itself deeply between Felix’s heart and ribcage, warming him up as his ears burned red from embarrassment.

“Can I come inside? Unless you want me to teach you on the pavement?” The boy let out a confused yelp as he moment to the side, holding the doors open for the other, eyes following all of his movements as he let him come in. Felix clutched the bottom of his sweater between his fingers, watching as the other stood in front of the coat hanger, watching him too. 

Felix glanced at the home phone in the hallway, then glancing back at the man. And it seemed like the other understood him without asking anything, looking at the phone too before turning to look at him again, this time with a smile gracing his features. “You probably are confused. Why don’t you call your dad and ask if I’m your new tutor?”

He shuffled over to the phone, watching the other carefully as he picked it up to call his father, slowly pressing onto the numbers, hearing the slow rhythmic beeps before the call was picked up after some time. “Yes Yongbok? Why are you calling?” The boy gulped, the man watching him in curiosity, making Felix cover into himself unconsciously. “I wanted to ask how my tutor looks? And what’s his name?” The man at the other side of the call cursed silently. “Your mother must have forgotten to tell you about him.”

“He has brown hair and is around your height, he’s also Australian just like you and his name is Bang Chan.” His father rushed to hang up the call, the students already pilling into the lecture hall. Felix said a rushed goodbye as he put the phone down, staring at it for a few seconds before turning to look at the other again. “Tell me your name?”

“Oh yes, hi, I’m Bang Chan, your new tutor.” The guy smiled widely again, Felix focusing on the dimple for a few moments before smiling back at him awkwardly, hoping that it didn’t look like a grimace. “You’re Australian, right?” Felix nodded at that, his fingers playing with the loose end of his sweater, tugging at it as Chan relaxed too, shoulders dropping and eyes crinkling up. “Thank God, professor Lee didn’t tell me how old his son was and I thought I’ll have to teach a twelve year old –“ “I’m eighteen? If that helps?”

Felix was about to introduce himself again when his stomach grumbled loudly, making him blush and duck his head down, avoiding the other’s eyes. And Chan chuckled at that, the corners of his lips curling upwards as he thought that the other was cute. “You didn’t eat breakfast yet, did you?” The boy could only nod his head at that, stomach grumbling loudly again. “I was about to go and eat something but you came.”

“Well, we can’t have you learning with an empty stomach, show me to your kitchen.” The boy looked at Chan for a few moments, his stomach turning, but this time pleasantly. He was still in shock over how young his new teacher was. And the way he was talking to him made him feel comfortable, like they were equals rather than Felix being a dumb teen, that is if he would quote his last teacher. He made his way to the kitchen silently, feeling Chan behind him, keeping a bit of distance but still following after him.

“Would you like some food too? I’m going to make myself some cereal.” “If it’s not a problem? I slept through my alarm and didn’t have time for breakfast.” Felix nodded at that, moving over to the fringe to take out the soy milk. Chan looked at box with raised eyebrows but shook his head with amusement swimming in his orbs. “I’ve never tried cereal with soy milk but there’s a first time for everything.” Felix had to hold in his giggles as he placed two bowls on the table, taking out two spoons and the cereal out of the cupboard.

“Oh? Your family must be really healthy? My dad wouldn’t come near muesli even with a ten feet pole.” Felix looked at Chan with a weirded out expression, the brunette laughing awkwardly and scratching the back of his neck in the process. “Do you not want it?” Silence followed after and then Chan shook his head enthusiastically, eyes wide and hands flailing a bit. “No, no. That’s not what I meant. It’s just nice to see how different people are.”

“So you want the cereal –“ “Yes please!” Felix laughed at that, pouring some of the muesli into his bowl and passing the box to Chan, careful not to spill the soy milk as he poured it in afterwards. “Oh God, you’re one of those people.”

“Excuse me?” Felix tried not to sound offended as Chan looked at him with his lips set into a straight line and eyebrows furrowed. “Everyone knows you’re supposed to pour milk first and then the cereal?” The boy’s fingers twitched again, gripping onto the spoon tightly as he let out a sigh of relief. “That’s how I always ate it?” A loud laugh followed after, Chan grinning widely and taking a mouthful of the cereal, chewing and gulping it down. “Consider this as one of the lessons I’ll teach you then.”

Felix stayed silent after that, eating while taking quick glances at the other, flinching when Chan caught him looking one time.

With the dishes cleaned and their stomachs full, the two of them made their way up to Felix’s room, the boy shyly opening the doors, thankful that his mother always made sure that he had it clean and spotless.

Chan spent some time looking around. The room was simple, one of the most plain rooms he had ever been in. Even his dorm room had more warmth to it and he used to hate it before he moved out to live in a shared apartment with one of his friends. The walls were a plain cream beige, a single bed pushed up against the wall with a small table by the side of it. There was a huge bookshelf with two beanbags near it and a worktable with a laptop on it in front of the window. A wardrobe was pushed into the corner of the room with mirrored doors.

The room was very plain and Chan tried to ignore the nagging at the back of his brains. Maybe Felix was just a simple boy who didn’t like decorating his room. Or maybe he loved books and the bookshelf was enough of a decoration for him.

Felix sat down at the chair in front of his desk and Chan settled down on one of the beanbags that he dragged over to the desk, silence enveloping them, making the younger boy shift awkwardly. “Chan? I never asked, how old are you?” “Twenty one.” The boy’s eyes widened at that, stomach turning and palms sweating from anxiety.

“I’m so sorry! I was very rude to you, hyung, excuse me for talking to you informally.” He was met with Chan shaking his head and hands flailing around to stop him, the older boy falling back into the beanbag as he lost his balance. “No need for any of that! Be comfortable around me, I don’t really like it when people are formal with me either way.”

“Oh, is it okay if I call you Chan hyung?” The other nodded at that enthusiastically, fingers drumming against the side of the table as Felix focused on going through his notebooks, searching for exactly where he ended the lesson last time. “What are we going to start with –“ “Whatever you want us to start with? You are the teacher here.” Chan frowned at that, looking down at the notebooks on the table before looking back up at Felix, meeting his confused eyes with a determined look in his own pair of orbs.

“What do you like to study?” “Excuse me?” Chan chuckled at that again, drumming a beat against the wood again. “Is there a subject you like? We could start from there?” Felix thought about it for a few seconds. His last teacher never let him have any opinions and freedom of choice, so he had to remember which subjects he actually liked. “History?” “Is that a question or do you really like history?” Felix gasped at that, not being used to someone teasing him in a friendly way without actually having any malicious intent.

“I do like it! I also really like physics and English.” “Okay then, why don’t we start with history? And then we can move to English? We don’t want to learn about every subject in one day –“ “We don’t?” Chan shook his head at that, looking at the boy for a few seconds before glancing down at his notes, trying to help him figure out where exactly the last teacher ended the lesson.

“If we focus on one or two subject in a day you will be more focused. There’s no use in overworking you.” He pointed to the writing in the notebook, nodding to himself and then taping Felix’s wrist gently with a pencil he found on the desk. “There, the French revolution!” The boy was still confused at Chan’s enthusiasm, but he welcomed it, grabbing a yellow marker as Chan looked through the notes the teacher before him had prepared for him to use.

Felix groaned as his shoulders ached, turning his head to the side and wincing as a loud crack could be heard throughout the room. Chan had to force himself to look up from the boy’s notes he had been correcting, noticing the tension in the other’s body, eyes unfocused and fingers gripping onto the table tightly. “Why don’t we take a break?”

“Can we?” Chan frowned at that, taking notice of the way the boy was so surprised at the mere suggestion of not studying. He had tried to ignore the invasive thoughts that the boy hadn’t actually had a nice tutor before. From the way Felix would look at him in confusion when he had offered to help him with a question to the way he had looked at him weirdly when Chan simply told him that he was doing good, everything screamed that the boy’s last teacher hadn’t exactly been supportive and attentive to him.

“Yeah, let’s take a break before we move to English, okay?” Felix could only nod his head at that, still stunned that he was given a choice to actually voice out what he wanted. “I’m going to grab some snacks from the kitchen, would you like anything to drink, hyung?” “Why don’t I go down with you? I’ll help you carry everything up.”

The pantry was full of healthy snacks, the boy taking a bag of banana chips and some cut up fruits with him while Chan held a jug of water with mint and lemon mixed up with a bit of honey. He had been used to eating junk food while tutoring, so this was a complete 180 for him.

The two of them settled down into the beanbags in Felix’s room, the bag of banana chips in between them, Chan looking around and focusing on the bookshelf. “So, you like reading?” Felix had to swallow down the food, gulping a bit of the lemon water down before nodding his head. “Father always brings back new books for me every week.” Chan didn’t say anything about Felix not calling his dad in a warm way, he had to fight back the questions building up in the back of his head about that subject. It was not his place to ask either way. He was only there to teach him, even if Felix seemed like a really nice kid.

“What else do you like to do?” “I usually just read if I have time? Sometimes I play boardgames with my parents?” Chan couldn’t help and shake his head at that, the corners of his lips tugging downwards and his chest tightening uncomfortably. “You have got to be kidding me.” Felix simply looked the other in confusion, lips parted in wonder as he watched how open Chan was with his thoughts and feelings, not hiding them behind a mask.

“What about friends? What do you do with them?” Felix looked down at his hands at that, worrying his bottom lip between his front teeth. Chan could feel the tension and anxiety rolling off of him in waves, already regretting that he pried into his life too much and made him uncomfortable. “I, well, I don’t have friends? I spend all of my time at home.” Felix didn’t tell Chan that it was because his parents never let him go anywhere alone.

“Why so?” Chan almost hissed at himself and how stupid he was. He was prying more into the other’s life, probably making him even more uncomfortable. But Felix seemed to think about an answer, not shying away from the other’s questions. “I was homeschooled the moment we moved from Australia, didn’t really have much opportunities to meet people around my age.”

“Not even once?” Felix shook his head at that, picking at the loose ends of his sweater, stroking over the lines. “Okay, how long have you been homeschooled then?” Chan watched the other as his shoulders fell, the boy letting out a defeated sigh and glancing up at the other, already feeling strangely comfortable around him, at least enough to share some parts of his life.

“Three years, this is going to be the fourth one.” “Well we have to change that then.” Chan looked through his phone for a few seconds, smiling when he found exactly what he had been searching for. “You said your parents don’t let you go out alone, right?” The dimpled boy put his phone on the ground between them, grinning at the other widely, showing off a cute smile, making Felix stare at him for a few seconds, dazed and simply shocked.

“Well, there’s an interesting exhibition in the national museum and I’m thinking we should go there.” Felix couldn’t let himself hope for that much, already knowing that his father will tell him that he has no need for any of that, that he had a teacher to teach him everything he needed to enter a good university. “Father will never approve of that.” Chan gave him a wink in response, looking through his contacts for a few moments. “You underestimate my abilities Felix.”

The boy watched with curious eyes and hope bubbling up in his heart as Chan pressed the call button and held a finger against his lips to tell him to be silent, brows furrowed and eyes focused. “Hello, professor Lee! This is Bang Chan calling you.” He hummed in response at whatever he had been told, shaking his head automatically. “No, Felix is a wonderful student, very bright.” The freckled boy bowed his head down at that, cheeks dusting over with a soft shade of pink, lips pulling up into a soft smile at the compliment.

“Ah, yes, I called to ask if it would be okay to take Felix to a museum tomorrow?” Chan pulled a silly expression, making Felix let out a soft giggle, only to cover up his mouth with a guilty expression, Chan laughing at him silently. “It would benefit him greatly professor Lee! It’s a science exhibition.” There were a few more murmurs heard from the other end of the call, Felix looking at the other hopefully, noticing the smile still gracing his features.

“Thank you! Have a good day sir!” Chan hung the call up with a wide grin. “We are not going to the science exhibition.” Felix could feel the hope in his chest crumbling, hands falling to his sides and fingers curling into the rug beneath him. “We’re going to an art exhibition!”

“Wait, really?” Felix could feel his heart falling to the pits of his stomach, too cautious to believe that he was finally going to experience something he would actually find interest in. “Yes! I was thinking tomorrow? We could count it as another history lesson?” Chan could feel his insides twisting as the other nodded at that enthusiastically, eyes wide with wonder and hope. So maybe he was going to break a few rules, but Felix was going to be learning either way. As long as the boy learned something he was getting paid, the nice company and wide, wonder filled eyes will just be a huge bonus to him.

Felix was nervous as he chewed onto his bottom lip, fingers playing with the sleeves of his soft sweater, knees shaking in anxiety and palms sweating. He was waiting for Chan to show up, it was two minutes past nine and his brains told him that this was all a sick joke. He almost convinced himself that the other was not going to show up and will leave him sitting in the living room, hope dying down just when it was born and started blossoming.

His parents had left as usual, at seven, Felix nervously glancing around the house, too anxious to eat anything more than a mere apple, stomach turning because of the nerves and excitement. And now that he had been waiting for two hours, he was starting to regret agreeing to go to the museum with Chan.

Felix was about to go back to his room to change into his regular clothes, but the ringing of the doorbell stopped him in his tracks. Eyes widening and heart beating rapidly against his ribcage, the boy made his way to the doors, peering through the peephole only to let out a loud yelp. It was Chan! He had actually kept up with the promise.

The doors swung open and Felix met the other’s surprised expression with a smile and wide eyes, clutching onto the backpack he had put some money and notebooks in. It was still going to be considered as a lesson and Felix wanted to be prepared. “Hey Felix, are you ready to go?” Chan had moved to the side as the boy all but ran out of the house, locking the doors up after himself.

“My room mate needed my car, do you mind going with the bus?” A soft breeze brushed through Felix’s combed black hair, strands of it moving with the wind. The boy’s eyes glazed over as he was in deep thought, head tilted to the side and nose scrunched up a bit. Chan found the other cute like that, not schooling his emotions and without a mask to hide behind. But the silence and lack of answer was bothering him and the boy nudged Felix’s side. “I can just get an uber, give me a minute.” The freckled boy shook his head at that, grabbing at Chan’s hand, surprising the two of them. His ears burned as he looked down at the ground, feeling embarrassment creeping up onto his face.

“No, I want to go with a bus, I’ve never actually been on one.” Chan let out a soft _what?_ as he looked at the boy for a few moments, trying to figure out if he was just joking around with him or if he was being actually serious. And from the looks of it and his red cheeks, Felix was being dead serious. Never having experienced something so every day.

“Okay, we’ll go with a bus then! The stop is a few minutes away.” The boy followed after Chan, the two of them enjoying the sun shining down on them, no clouds in the sky and birds chirping loudly. Felix looked around in wonder, taking time to stare at the trees and the pavement, at every crack in it and the cat that was lazily lying on the grass, soaking up the sunlight. His eyes ran all over the houses in the neighborhood, smiling at all the different colors, the blues and greens, the yellows and pinks, joining in together and creating a vibrant dream Felix never wanted to wake up from.

His smile only widened as he sat down on a seat in the bus, Chan having paid for their tickets, making the boy frown before he forgot about it as he noticed all the people in the bus. He hadn’t seen so many people in one place in months. The last time was almost half a year ago when he had to go to the hospital because he broke his elbow by falling down the stairs when he was not careful.

His eyes sparkled with wonder as he took in the way an older woman was cradling a child to her chest, probably her grandson. They looked so happy and the boy let a bittersweet smile cross his features. Chan sat by his side, trying to be discreet as he watched the other from the corner of his eyes, smiling gently at the childish wonder and glee written all over Felix’s face. His heart clenched painfully at the thought that the boy hadn’t experienced what every child should, that his life had been so sheltered he hadn’t felt actual freedom and joy.

The ride was quite long, Felix living in a suburban area, where the houses were bigger and with enormous yards. Chan tapped the other on the shoulder, drawing him out of his thoughts as they neared their exit stop, motioning for him to follow him out.

The child who was with the old woman stared at Felix intensely, making the boy glance back at his seat then back at the child, curiosity rolling off of him in thick waves. The child smiled after a second, eyes wide and a small hand waving clumsily at him, making Felix’s eyes prickle unconsciously. Chan could only smile in response as he was met with the other’s glimmering eyes. “It’s nice to be outside with other people, isn’t it?”

The center of the city was so different from what Felix remembered it to be. Or maybe the memory he had of it was too weak, only having been here two times before, his parents too afraid that he was going to be lost or kidnapped if he was going to be around a lot of people. He was still confused about how Chan managed to talk his father into letting him go, but he locked the thoughts up in the back of his brains, giving himself one day to feel free.

The museum was enormous. Felix’s eyes flew from one corner to another as Chan was buying tickets for the two of them. The boy had tried to give Chan the money his parents had given to him, but he was met with a dimpled smile and a shake of brown curls, a soft _keep it, I’m taking you out_ followed with a soft laugh and Chan avoiding his grabby hands.

If the outside of the museum made Felix feel like he was small, the inside made him feel plain. All the colorful paintings, the different styles and displays. He had unconsciously stopped in front of every single painting, peering at them in curiosity, reading the information and taking notes of every single fact. Chan had stood by his side as they moved around the connected rooms, chest warm at the thought that he had given him at least this much.

Every once in awhile Chan would talk about a specific painting, about a specific artist and Felix would drink his words in, skin buzzing and cheeks tinting pink whenever the other would get of topic and would start rambling.

Felix could feel his stomach starting to rumble, but he tried to avert his attention back to the paintings, not knowing when will be the next time he’ll have this much freedom and fun. He was about to move to the side, to another painting, when Chan’s hand on his elbow stopped him, making him tilt his head to look back at him.

“How about we go for some food? We’ve been here for almost five hours.” Felix glanced back at the clock on the wall, a gasp leaving his parted lips. He had been so focused on the art and Chan’s voice that he had lost track of time. “Are you sure? We could just go home?”

“You should work more on your jokes Felix. We’re not going home hungry.” The boy was about to protest but Chan was quicker, pulling him by his hand gently, urging him to follow after him. The sky was cloudy, the sun still peeking through the whiteness, but not as much as before. Felix had to almost run to catch up to the other, following after him as Chan dodged through the crowds of people. It was so crowded that at one point Felix grabbed onto the sleeve of the other’s jacket and held onto it, making Chan have to hide his smile by turning his head to the side.

In no time they were in front of a Korean barbeque house, Felix trying to read the name of the street as Chan ushered the two of them inside. A nice waitress bowed to the two of them, taking them to an empty table, placing two menus for them to read and asking if they maybe already had something in mind. “I’d like a glass of water, Felix?” The boy almost jumped out of his seat, the waitress smiling at him politely. “Huh? Oh yeah, a glass of water please.”

“We’ll look through the menu, thank you.” Chan waited for the waitress to walk away before turning back to look at Felix. “Have you ever tried Korean barbeque?” “Once, but I don’t remember it much, we still lived back in Australia.”

“I have a lot of things I have to teach you then. You okay with eating meat?” Felix nodded his head at that, watching as Chan flagged the waitress down, ordering for the two of them, leaving the boy to wonder just how much more comfortable the other was compared to him.

“Were you homeschooled in Australia too?” “Not always, I went to school but my parents decided it’s better to homeschool me when I was twelve.” Chan was in deep thought for a few seconds, nodding his head in understanding as the waitress placed the food down on the table. “Let me make the first wrap for you.”

Felix watched in curiosity as Chan put the ingredients on the piece of salad, wrapping it around and holding it up in front of his lips. His eyes met the other’s for a few seconds, something passing by as the wrap was pressed closer to his lips, urging him to open up and let Chan place the food inside of his mouth. The boy struggled a bit to chew everything together, but he was surprised at how good it tasted. He had gotten so used to eating only healthy food and almost no meat that this tasted like heaven.

“Good?” A muffled _very_ could be heard from the boy, Chan already making another wrap for him to eat. Felix only had to open his mouth to have the food placed there, telling him that he had hands to make the wraps himself, but Chan simply waved him off with a smile and told him that this was how everyone ate.

Felix didn’t know that Chan lied about that, but a little lie couldn’t hurt him.

The two of them stood in front of the doors of Felix’s house, the boy knowing that his parents were probably watching them through the window. “Thank you, I had a lot of fun today.” Chan smiled at that, glancing at the window and bowing at his parents who were, in fact, standing by and watching their every move.

The curly haired brunet patted the other’s shoulder gently and smiled at him. “I’ll come over tomorrow at nine, just like today and we’ll continue with science.” Chan gave him a tiny wink at the cover up, the two of them sharing a secret smile.

Felix greeted his parents with a smile, his mother watching him with a surprised expression and father with an approving nod.

“How was the science exhibition?”

“Very interesting father, Chan hyung knows a lot about space.” Which wasn’t much of a lie with the older chatting his ear off about the planets and stars when they were in the restaurant. “Good, I hope he’ll teach you a lot.”

“Yes father, I’m sure he will.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He felt accepted. And as Jisung let out a loud shout at Changbin to stop scaring him and Minho leaned back against his legs, he pressed his cheek to Chan’s chest. He felt like for the first time in his life he had made his own decisions.

It was eight in the morning and Felix couldn’t remember the last time he had been excited this early in the morning. His parents had already left for work, leaving him with simple goodbyes, the boy smiling at them as he waved them away, locking the doors after himself. He had clutched his notebook to his chest with curious eyes, remembering Chan telling him that he had a small surprise for him.

The boy had been excited the whole evening, finding it hard to fall asleep when the clock hit eleven, stayed wide awake until three in the morning, listening to the cars passing by and his father snoring in the room next to his.

And now the boy was excited, sitting in the living room with his books and notebooks, having forgotten to do his chemistry homework Chan had assigned to him. His brains could barely focus on the formulas in front of him, eyes darting to the side, to look at the clock on the wall, following the movement of the shifting arrows.

The bell ringing made him jump to his feet, rushing over to the doors, smiling shyly when he saw Chan in front of him, curly brown hair hid under his favorite grey beanie. He was wearing a warm looking fuzzy coat, the tip of his nose red and fingers burrowed into the oversized sleeves. “It’s really cold outside,” Felix looked at him in surprise for a few seconds, Chan’s eyes curling up and lips pulled into a wide smile even if he was freezing. “Can we please drink some tea before studying?”

Felix ushered him into the kitchen, being followed awkwardly, the two of them standing in front of a cupboard, both looking at each other in uncertainty. “Is chamomile okay?” Chan could almost feel the anxiety rolling off of the other, having to fight the urge to frown and tell the other that he shouldn’t feel uncomfortable around him. But he had noticed that the boy second questioned all of his decisions and acted like Chan was supposed to control him, to tell him what he was supposed to do and when, and his heart clenched at that painfully, stomach turning and skin feeling like spiders were crawling on top of it. He didn’t like it, didn’t like knowing that Felix felt insecure over being himself, but he stayed silent, at least for the most part, sitting back, but still worrying, silently plotting his next move and how to get the other to come out of his shell.

“Yes, of course it’s okay! Anything warm is good at this point.” Felix giggled at that, still amazed at how comfortable the other felt around him. His parents were always formal with him, and with him not having any friends, Felix was stuck with no socializing, feeling like no one was going to be able to understand him.

The boy worked around the kitchen, reaching into the cupboard and grabbing two cups, putting some chamomile tea into them and then pouring hot water in. Chan watched him with a gentle smile, fingers tapping against the surface of the table softly, creating a beat that made Felix nod his head rhythmically. The two of them stayed silent for a few minutes while the tea was steaming hot, cradling the cups into their hands as they moved upstairs, to Felix’s room.

“I’ll grab my homework from the living room.” Chan was left alone in the boy’s room, eyes scanning over the space again. The bed was neatly made and books stacked on top of each other on the table, biology and chemistry textbooks messily spread around. His fingers ran over the backs of the books, reading at the names and smiling to himself. Felix was such a smart kid. He had been surprised when he started teaching him at first, not expecting the other to be this advanced. He probably knew more about physics than Chan himself did, and that said a lot.

As he was running his fingers over the pages, Felix came back, cradling the notebooks and some books in his arms, smiling at him awkwardly as he tried to shut his doors with his foot. Only to make the books fall to the ground as he stumbled and had to catch himself before he fell. Chan hurried over to him, catching him by his shoulders, the two of them staying silent for a few moments before the curly haired male chuckled, the laugher contagious enough to get Felix to start laughing too.

The two of them stayed like that for a few moments, Chan clutching onto his shoulders and Felix with his eyes clenched shut as he breathed deeply, trying to stop his laughing fit. The freckled boy felt weirdly free around the other, like he didn’t have to prove anything to him, and it made his stomach turn whenever he thought about it for too long. It weirded him out how fast he had managed to get used to Chan, how fast he welcomed him into his life.

It had become almost like a routine for him to wait for Chan every morning, to hope for the doorbell to ring exactly at eight in the morning. His fingers would twitch and he would usually wait by the window, watching as Chan would walk up the pathway to his house, legs shaking as he would stumble to the doors, eager to welcome him in.

Felix was embarrassed to admit that he was acting like a child, but he couldn’t help and become giddy whenever the other showed up, whenever he as much as thought about him. The boy smiled to himself, feeling Chan’s fingers pressing into his shoulders before they disappeared, the touch so light that he thought he had imagined it on him, on his skin. He tilted his head up, eyes curious yet still a bit guarded, old habits dying hard, as he watched the other, watched him dig through his backpack and smile as he found something.

“I said I have a surprise for you, and I hope you’ll like it.” Felix watched in curiosity as Chan held two slips of thinly cut paper in his hand. It looked like it had something printed on it? The boy glanced at the other’s eyes, Chan smiling at him and motioning for him to take the items in his hands. “Take it.”

Wide eyes ran all over the surface of the small papers. Tickets. They were tickets to a movie. Felix’s lips parted in wonder, nose scrunching up as he turned them over and then back again, staring at them for a few seconds before he looked back up at Chan, surprise written all over his features and fingers clutching tightly onto the tickets. “These are movie tickets? Why would you give them to me?” The boy felt dumb as he asked the question, hope blossoming in his chest, warming him up from inside. “Silly, we’re going to see a movie.”

“My parents will never agree to this.” Chan laughed at that, leaving the boy confused, watching the other as he shook his head, eyes twinkling with mischief. “That’s why I told your father I’m taking you to a chemistry workshop –“ “And he believed you?” Felix watched at he was met with a warm smile, his stomach turning pleasantly, palms becoming clammy. “You really should give more credit to me.”

The boy wanted to ask Chan how he had managed to talk his father into letting him go out again, but decided not to play with his luck. He was going to be able to go out of the house again, this being the second time in two weeks that he will be outside. His lips stretched into a shy smile as Chan sank into one of the bean chairs.

“We’re gotta leave in two hours, let’s check your chemistry homework and work a bit further, then you’ll get ready.” Felix hurried over to the table, taking his notebook with him and working through the pages, stopping when he found exactly where his homework began. Chan leaned over closer to him, to be able to read through the pages, smiling to himself as he took in the cute handwriting, neat and without any mistakes, the numbers written down perfectly.

“Has anyone ever told you how perfect your handwriting is?” Felix could feel himself blushing at that, cheeks burning and heart slamming against his chest almost painfully, Chan’s praises getting to him. “N – no.” The older boy turned to watch him for a few seconds, brows furrowed, lips pulled into a straight line before he smiled again, masking his worry behind his cheerful expression. “Well, it’s really cute.”

The two of them smiled while looking through the notebook, Felix could feel Chan’s warmth against him, the older male now standing close to him to be able to read. He could almost feel his chest against his back and the corners of his lips twitched up even more, hiding his smile in the way he ducked his head low and coughed into his hand. “There’s a mistake right there.”

Felix’s eyes widened, bottom lip trembling as he clutched onto the surface of the table. Heart slammed against his chest, making his ribs throb, stomach turning unpleasantly. He could feel Chan’s eyes on him and fear filled his insides up. His skin tingled as phantom pain filled his brains up, remembering the sharp slaps of a ruler against his skin and the pinches to his arms whenever he did a mistake, the cruel mocking and insults. He moved further a bit, almost melting into the table as he tried to avoid Chan’s touch on him, feeling like he was going into an overdrive.

The older male could feel the other’s fear and his body was screaming at him to wrap his arms around him, to coo at him and make him relax. His eyes took in the way Felix’s shoulders tensed up and the way he had moved away from him. Chan let out an almost inaudible growl of anger, unconsciously prompting the other to wince again in fear.

Veiny hands gripped onto the table, caging Felix between them, the boy’s breathing picking up, anxiety tingling as the back of his head, hands shaking and eyes glistening with unshed tears. His body was covered in waves of fear, waiting for a hit to come, for anything to come. His shoulders shook as he could feel Chan’s breathing against his ear, skin flushing and a single tear rolling down the side of his face, feeling like he was sinking deeper.

The hands gripping onto the table disappeared, Felix letting out a confused yelp as they were wrapped around his middle, pulling him into Chan’s warm chest, the older boy’s chin resting on his shoulder, the two of them staying like that for a few minutes, just breathing each other in. The freckled boy’s heartbeat picked up when Chan’s fingers drummed over his sweater clad stomach, thumbs rubbing at his sides after a few seconds. The touch seeped through the material and thought Felix’s skin, warming his insides up, his body slowly relaxing.

Anger and questions swirled around in Chan’s head, thoughts dark and conclusions even darker, worry for the boy in his arms growing with every following second. “Felix, please don’t be scared of me. I want you to trust me.” The mentioned boy tilted his head to the side, eyes glassy and unfocused, trying to look back at him. “Trust?”

“We’ll work on that,” Chan’s fingers rubbed the boy’s sweater covered stomach, smiling bitterly at him as Felix nodded his head in understanding, preferring to keep silent out of confusion. “How about we forget chemistry for today and you go and get ready?” The boy’s eyes came back to life a bit more, a tint of hope and excitement showing, making Chan smile a little bit wider, a little bit more genuinely. He held him close to his chest for a minute longer, the two of them calming down, their heartbeats matching, before he let go of Felix, patting his shoulder gently, watching as the boy slowly made his way over to his wardrobe.

“Is a sweater going to work?” Chan had to fight back the chuckle, finding Felix cute as he asked for his fashion advice. “Of course, dress comfy, we’ll be sitting for at least two hours.” The young boy nodded his head back, looking through his wardrobe, his eyes falling upon a yellow oversized sweater with a small sunflower embroidered at the chest, a gift from his uncle a few years ago. His parents had told him that the sweater was too bright for him to wear but he didn’t have the will to throw it out. And as his fingers ran through the soft material he smiled gently, remembering how badly he had wanted to wear it when he was given it.

Felix opted for a simple pair of jeans and slipped out of the room, Chan giving him a thumbs up in encouragement, before he went to the bathroom, shutting the doors after himself. He pulled his sweater off over his head, staring at the reflection in the mirror for a few seconds, taking in his paleish skin and the bags under his eyes from the almost sleepless night. But excitement shone through the darkness of his eyes, making him smile back at himself. He was going to go out and he was going to enjoy himself and enjoy Chan’s company.

The yellow sweater fell upon his frame freely, engulfing him and making him feel the softness of the material, making his freckles stand out a bit more.

Chan held Felix’s hand, convincing himself that he was only doing this because he didn’t want to lose the boy in the crowd, as the two of them walked into the mall, Felix looking all around himself, eyes wide and wandering, all the different shops catching his attention. “Is this your first time in a mall?” The lithe boy hummed before turning his head to glance at him. “Yes, first time in five years I think.” Chan’s eyes widened at that, lips twitching and biting down onto his tongue to stop questioning for more.

The cinema of the mall was crowned, Chan feeling smart that he had bought the tickets a few days ago, Felix shuffling closer to him as he avoided being pushed around. “Do you want any snacks?” He was met with a shrug of shoulders and eyes peering at the snacks behind the counter. “What snacks do you eat while watching a movie?” For a few seconds Chan simply stared at him, shaking his head as his stomach twisted uncomfortably, feeling weirdly protective over the other and how naïve he was. “Let’s buy popcorn and some coke. Maybe some gummies too.”

The two of them talked as they sat in their seats, Chan having bought the ones right at the back, so that if Felix had to ask him for anything, he wouldn’t be troubling anyone. The younger boy looked around curiously, watching as more people came and searched for their seats, most coming in groups of three or more, laughing loudly and joking around, holding boxes of popcorn and soda in their hands. Everyone looked so happy and the boy couldn’t help but to become a bit bitter. He wanted to experience something like this everyday too. He wanted to be this free too.

Before Chan, Felix didn’t even think about freedom, didn’t think that his parents were controlling him and keeping him locked up inside. He just thought that it was normal and how it should be. But with Chan here, by his side, slowly introducing him to the world again, showing him affection and attention without him having to ask for it, he felt the thirst for freedom. The boy turned his head to the side, eyes catching the way the other smiled as he texted someone back on his phone, Felix’s heart warming up and tears coming to his eyes. He wanted this too. He wanted to have something like this.

A tear slipped down the side of his face, Chan’s finger chasing after it, wiping it away and leaning closer to him, his hand squeezing his shoulder in comfort. “Are you okay?” The boy nodded his head, lips curling into a smile as Chan squeezed his shoulder again, placing the box of salty popcorn into Felix’s lap.

With a mouthful of the snack, Felix let out an excited yip, Chan laughing at him as the lights were shut off, the screen finally showing commercials of upcoming films, the boy’s eyes following all the lights and movements, mouth open in surprise and shock. Blue light hit the side of his face softly, Chan watching him more closely than he watched the movie, thinking that Felix was cute. His eyes shone brightly, cheeks bulging out cutely as he chewed onto the popcorn, lips pulled into a cute pout and lashes curling beautifully. He would be a liar if he would have said that the other was not attractive, he was very pretty and Chan wanted to savor this moment, where the two of them enjoyed each other’s company without any worries.

“Do you watch a lot of movies?” Felix tried to be as quiet as possible as he whispered while leaning over closer to Chan, the two of them giggling over some of the scenes in the movie, the older male having to explain some things to him. “Yeah, it’s what Netflix is for.” The boy was not dumb, he knew what Netflix was, he just never tried it out, because his parents would never let him use their bank cards for anything, which meant he couldn’t sign up even for the free period.

Chan carded his fingers through his curly hair, watching as Felix stared at the people in the cinema as the lights went back on. There was curiosity and something familiar to nostalgia clashing with the excitement on his face. “You know, back in Sydney it was fun, when I could just run around outside and have friends.” Chan averted his eyes and looked at the ground for a few seconds, another idea popping up in his head. He was sure that Felix’s father was going to start being suspicious about all the outings, but he had to take the risk.

He couldn’t comprehend what he was being told. He was sitting in the living room, his mother and father sitting on the other couch as he looked at them, brows raised in surprise and eyes large, disbelief clouding his vision. “Excuse me, but what?” His mother gave him a pointed look but nothing more, while his father sighed and put his hands on his knees, relaxing a bit more.

“Bang Chan must have not told you. He called me to ask if it would be possible to take you to a chemistry lab, for you to see how scientists work.” Felix nodded at that, he got that part, it was easy to understand. “I understand father, but you said it’s in Daegu.” His father sighed again, looking like he was giving up. “Yes Yongbok, which is why I’m letting you stay in a Hotel for one night under Bang Chan’s supervision.” The boy’s mouth fell open in shock, heart almost leaping out of his chest in disbelief and joy.

“He’s going to be coming to pick you up in an hour, so go and get ready.” Felix bowed to his parents, knowing how much they liked to be respected before he rushed up the stairs, skin buzzing and legs shaking from excitement. Chan had managed to talk his father into letting him spend a day and a night outside of the house. Felix couldn’t even frown when he thought that it was for studying, he was excited for an opportunity to be out and be around his friend. He still felt giddy when calling the other that, but Chan himself told him that they were friends, that they were going to be close.

His backpack had a sweater and a pair of jeans and underwear in a record time of seconds, putting some notebooks inside and taking his wallet with him, careful to not lose the money his father had given to him.

He could barely contain himself, smiling widely as he heard the doorbell ringing, fighting against himself not to fly down the stairs to greet Chan, knowing his parents will be watching him. He peeked down from behind the wall, watching how the other bowed to both of his parents, shaking hands with his father, and then Chan noticed him, sending a small and subtle wink.

“Yongbok! Come down, Bang Chan is here, don’t make him wait.” The boy cringed at his father’s loud and authoritative voice, but still made his way downstairs, backpack clutched in one hand and he bowed to his parents and Chan again. “Good evening Chan shi.” The male almost gagged at that but managed to hold himself together, bowing back just to act in front of the boy’s parents. “Hello Yongbok shi, are you ready to go?” The boy nodded, almost cringing at the use of his Korean name, bowing again to his parents as a goodbye.

Chan led him to his car, letting his put the backpack in the back and joining him in the passenger’s seat, the male behind the wheel as he smiled at him. “How did you manage to talk father into letting me go to Daegu?” Chan grinned at that wider, eyes twinkling with mischief and fingers drumming over the wheel. “For a professor, your dad’s really easy to persuade if you’re smart enough. I just had to tell him that it would be good for you to see how scientists work.” Felix stared at him for awhile, making him sigh and give up. “Okay, so maybe I also had my friend who knows someone who works there get that person to act like we really are coming –“ “What about the hotel?”

A loud round of laughter was heard in the car, Chan clutching onto his stomach. “I made a reservation and my friend’s gonna check in in your name.” “Why would you do all of this for me?” He was met with a soft gaze, thumb rubbing right under his left eye. “Because I want you to see me performing –“ “Performing?”

“I’m in this rap trio? We call ourselves 3racha, Felix, please stop laughing.” The boy couldn’t help himself, bursting into a fit of giggles at the name of their group. “You called yourself after a sauce?” “Felix, no.” But Chan laughed with him, the two of them looking into each other’s eyes. “Anyways, we are performing in an underground club tonight, and I’m taking you with me, then we’re going back to mine’s to watch movies and sleep in,” Felix was about to respond, but Chan shushed him. “And in the morning I’m making you waffles and the thickest milkshake possible.”

He could feel excitement building up inside of him, the thought of going to a club and watching Chan rap, getting to spend the night with him, made him feel like a child eating candy for the first time. The neon lights outside of the building made his vision double for a second, a warm hand pressing into his back, encouraging him and giving his strength. “The owner knows me so we won’t need ids to enter.” Felix gulped but still nodded his head, the hand slipping down to hold onto his, their fingers intertwining and Chan tugged him closer to the doors, avoiding the line of people and going straight to the bouncer.

“Name?” Felix fidgeted but Chan simply smiled widely, swinging their joined hands to make him giggle. “CB97 and Lee Felix.” The bouncer looked at the tablet he was holding, glancing back at them and when Chan’s picture showed up, he nodded his head and opened the doors up for them, wishing them good luck and focusing back on the line.

The lights inside the club fascinated him. Mostly blues and purples, giving off a darker feeling, making Felix’s skin almost glow, the white loose shirt Chan had given him to change into almost glowing under the light. He was wearing his loose jeans and a pair of Chan’s worn out but still bright yellow converses. The shoes were a bit too big for him, but Felix felt warm inside while wearing them, feeling like a whole different person.

“Yo Chan! My man!” A short male jumped onto the other’s back, Felix watched another boy come and drag the intruder off of him. But Chan let out a loud lough and clapped the two of them on their backs harshly, making one of them cough. “Changbin, control your boyfriend.” _Boyfriend?_ While Felix knew that bisexuals and gay people existed, he had never met one in his life before, eyes curious as he watched their interactions. He let out a soft yip when the boy with cute cheeks noticed him staring, giving him a friendly smile and a wave. “Hi! You must be Felix? I’m Han Jisung, but J.one on stage.”

The boy was pulled into a tight hug by Jisung, tensing up but relaxing as he saw Chan smiling at the two of them with warmth in his eyes, the male next to him also smiling. “Don’t be shy and kick Ji’s ass if he starts to annoy you,” Felix let out a soft giggle as he was squeezed again before being let go. “Also I’m Seo Changbin, Spear.b in 3racha, and Chan’s last healthy braincell.” An offended _hey_ could be heard, Felix giggling as he watched the two of them bicker while Jisung stuck to his side, smiling while looking at him with bright eyes.

“You’re just as cute as Chan hyung said you are.” His cheeks burned at the compliment, Chan and Changbin stopping their bickering only to stare at Jisung, wondering how he managed to get Felix to be comfortable enough around him so fast.

“I have another friend who’s joining us, he’s gonna be with you while we’ll perform.” Felix wished good luck to Jisung and Changbin, the younger making him promise that they will hang out after, Chan just telling them that they can all chill back at his. He followed after the other as he was led to one of the round tables with cushy seats at the second floor, apparently only VIPs could go there, but Felix was a guest of Chan so he was allowed.

“Hey Minho! Did you wait for long?” A boy, maybe a few years older than Felix, turned around, eyes the prettiest shade of honey brown and smile even prettier, greeting the two of them with a cheerful wave, nursing a drink in his other hand. “Nah, maybe ten minutes ago. Enough time to get a drink for me and your cute friend over here.” Felix could feel his cheeks burning once again, trying to hide behind Chan, while the curly haired male gave Minho a pointed stare, making him raise his free hand up in mock surrender. “Your words, not mine.”

This was the first time Felix had seen Chan actually blush, cheeks bright red and an embarrassed smile on his face. “Please don’t get Lix drunk.” _Lix?_ The boy’s lips curled into a soft pout and he thought about the nickname, heart going soft and lips forming a smile in a few seconds. He liked the sound of it when it came from Chan. “Yeah yeah, now go before Changbin has to come and drag you downstairs himself.” With one last squeeze of his shoulder, Felix was left alone with Minho, gulping his nerves down and smiling back at him shyly.

“I hope you like tequila sunrises. Was gonna buy you sex on the beach but figured Chan would kill me because he’d think I’m flirting with you.” Felix was confused about that, but still laughed, feeling the rush of excitement filling him up as a drink was placed in his hand, looking at it with raised eyebrows. “Don’t worry, made sure that the drink’s safe and I was the only one in the VIP lounge until you two came.”

The boy took a huge gulp of the cocktail, choking as the liquid went down his throat, coughing and feeling Minho hitting his back softly, giggling at him. “Easy there cutie, sip on the drink if you are not used to it, Chan will kill me if I’ll get you actually drunk.” Felix smiled as he once again wrapped his lips around the straw, taking a small sip, letting the liquid go down his throat smoother this time. “See, way better.”

“Oh! I’m Lee Felix, nice to meet you, Minho shi.” That brought out loud laughter from the older male. “Please don’t call me Minho shi, just call me hyung.” A song played loudly in the club, Felix looking down at the lower ground, watching as people danced, some together and some alone, most of them rubbing against each other. “I never understood why people go to clubs only to rub against each other.” Felix turned his head to the side to look back at Minho, taking a sip of his drink. The older male was sporting an unimpressed expression and was frowning in a joking manner. “Wanna see something cool?”

Felix let out a loud gasp and his eyes widened as Minho did a wave with his hand, letting it travel down his body, then up and to his other hand, spinning gracefully afterwards. He giggled as the other mimicked the people on the first floor, grinding his body and trying to pull a sensual expression, ending up laughing with the other loudly.

“Hyung, are you a dancer?” “That obvious?” Felix nodded his head, feeling strangely calm around the other, the two of them leaning against the railing in the VIP lounge, watching as Chan and his friends started walking around the small stage, people gathering to watch their performance. “Don’t tell them because they’ll think I’m soft, but they’re really talented, you’re in for a huge treat tonight.” The boy’s eyes followed all of Chan’s movements, after a few seconds shifting to Jisung and then Changbin, the short rapper waving at the two of them, drawing Jisung’s attention, the young boy jumping and giving them a salute, Minho calling them idiots with the fondest smile on his face.

Jisung shouted something into the microphone, Felix staring with wide eyes as a beat started playing, the bass strong, making him lean into Minho in surprise. Changbin looked at them again and smirked, before he raised the microphone up to his lips and words flew out of his mouth, Felix being left amazed and frozen in place, never having heard anyone rap in real life before.

He watched as Jisung took the lead, moving around the limited stage space as if he belonged there, as if he lived and breathed music, his body moving with the beat, Changbin and Chan moving around too, the crowd getting louder with every following moment.

Felix was left breathless as Chan rapped. His voice was smooth and the words sounded like they were put together by the best producer. Or maybe he was just being biased. His eyes briefly met the other’s, skin tingling as a wink was sent his way, a dimpled smile presenting itself, Minho letting out a low whistle at that. “You got him wrapped around your little finger.” Confusion went through his brains but he still continued to watch the performance as they switched to another song. “What do you mean?” Minho laughed at that, ruffling his dark hair, making Felix yelp in surprise. “Nothing, cutie, you’ll see at some point.”

“Are you going to come to Chan hyung’s place too?” Felix’s voice was loud as he tried to shout to the other, trying to be heard over the loud music. “Are you hanging out there together?” The boy missed the suggestive wiggle of Minho’s eyebrows, the older male laughing afterwards loudly. “Nevermind, I’m gonna tag along if Ji and Bin will be there.”

Felix had ended up in the back of Chan’s car, sandwiched between Minho and Jisung, the two males chatting his ears off and Changbin and Chan bickered over getting McDonalds or fried chicken. With an excited should of _burgers_ from Jisung it was decided, the car pulling into the drive thru, Chan turning around to look at him. “Allergic to anything? Fish or meat? Do you want dessert? What drink? Do yo –“ Changbin hit Chan over the back of his head, silencing him. “Let the kid decide for himself.”

The boy would have preferred for Chan to decide for him, but with eyes on him he felt shy and anxious. A hand tugging at his wrist made him turn to Jisung, the boy smiling at him gently. “Have you ever tried nuggets? And the Big Mac? Oh, and the fries, they’re so good.” Jisung looked at him with such a wide smile and his eyes were so warm, Felix simply gave in, smiling back before turning to look at Chan. “Can I get that?” “Anything for you.” Changbin hissed at Chan as the boy was about to ask about his drink and dessert, telling him to just get a big coke and the apple pie because everyone likes them.

Felix watched as Chan ordered for everyone, giving his bank card to the worker, putting in his pin and then thanking for their service. He couldn’t help and to feel giddy as he was passed his bag of food, peering inside in curiosity, nose wrinkling up at the smell of grease. “Is this healthy?” Minho let out the loudest and ugliest laugh possible, hitting Felix’s thigh softly as he doubled over from laughing. “No, but it’s tasty.”

Jisung once again tapped his shoulder, making him turn around only to have a fry in front of his lips. “The fries are the best, try them –“ “But I have my own?” Jisung simply pressed the fry to his lips closer, Felix following the action and biting into the food, chewing it and being surprised at how salty it was, but the taste leaving a warm feeling behind. His eyes met Chan’s in the review mirror and he couldn’t help and raise one of his eyebrows up, being met with a shake of a head and him trying to hide a smile.

Him and Jisung shared their fries, feeding each other occasionally, Minho slipping a few of his nuggets to Felix, both boys feeling warm as they watched him open up a bit more, welcoming their affection. Changbin had turned around at that point, watching the three of them with a fond look in his eyes, a dopey smile on his face. Chan was singing loudly to a random song and Felix felt happy, he felt cared for and for once, like he was fitting in.

Not long after, Felix watching the lights of the streets passing by, they were parked and spilling out of the car, Chan taking his hand to lead him to the elevator. Minho was stuck to his other side, feeding him another nugget as Jisung and Changbin were holding hands, Changbin pressing a sweet kiss upon the other’s cheek, making him giggle.

The boy didn’t want to stare, but the two of them were so open with their affection, showering each other in kisses, that it made him wonder how it felt too. To be this open and this happy, to have someone who loved him just like this. “Are you okay?” Minho was standing by his side still as the elevator opened up, making him scramble out after everyone. Laugher filled the hallway up as Chan unlocked the doors, Felix clutching onto the bag of his food as his eyes took in the space in front of him. “It’s not much, but it’s home.”

Pale lavender walls met his eyes, the living room small but modern and cozy, a huge couch with a soft carpet on the ground and a wide flat screen tv by the wall. Minho nudged him again, prompting the boy to take his shoes off, giving Chan his jacket as the boy had motioned for it, Jisung and Changbin dragging him to the couch, collapsing on it with him in the middle, being joined by Minho falling on top of him and Chan yelling for them not to suffocate him.

Felix was lucky to not spill his drink, taking his food out of the bag, giving Jisung half of his fries even if the boy protested and sharing his box of nuggets with Minho, who had managed to feed him almost all of his during the car ride. He sipped on the coke as he watched Chan and Changbin browse through Netflix, searching for something to watch. A loud curse was heard and Jisung pouted, feeding him a fry as he grumbled that he didn’t want to watch the horror movie, apparently it was especially scary.

Changbin had managed to drag Jisung onto his lap, the of them cuddling, the younger boy whining that he wanted to talk to Felix more, using any excuse he could to get out of watching the cursed horror movie. Minho had moved to the ground, by Felix’s feet, a thick blanket wrapped around him as he slurped his sprite loudly. “Can I sit with you?”

Chan was looking at him hopefully, eyes guarded yet gentle, another thick blanket in his hand while the other held his own bag of food. “Yes?” Felix couldn’t figure out why the other had even asked. It was not unusual for the two of them to sit close? But as Chan sat down, their sides touching, draping the blanket over the two of them, his cheeks burned brightly, being hidden by the darkness of the room. He could feel a hand wrapping itself around his shoulder, pulling him closer, making him rest against Chan’s chest. He had looked up at the other, watching his face for a few seconds, watching how he smiled and pretended like he wasn’t noticing Felix analyzing him.

He felt accepted. And as Jisung let out a loud shout at Changbin to stop scaring him and Minho leaned back against his legs, he pressed his cheek to Chan’s chest. He felt like for the first time in his life he had made his own decisions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I tried not to rush too quick again, don't know if this wasn't messy because I'm a mess, but enjoy!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You won’t be hurt as long as I’m around.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This update’s very cheesy and I am not feeling angst so bear with fluff! Also TW: non consensual touching of a child is mentioned very briefly, but it’s there!

Felix tried to hold in his laughter as he watched how Jisung hid his face in Changbin’s chest, the older male clearly enjoying the other cuddling into him, but still teasing him every single moment he could. They were wrapped up around each other and a huge blanket covered them up. Minho had moved to lay his head on the boy’s lap, Felix shyly looking down at him, sometimes feeling as Chan would shift around as he also tried to focus on the movie still playing. 

  
He had managed to eat the burger without making much sounds through the jump scares, still thinking it was a bit weird how people enjoyed these kinds of movies, but he could also see the appeal of them too. Chan was still sitting by his side, the two of them sharing the warm blanket, Felix feeling cozy as the back of his head was pressed into the other’s chest, feeling the way it rose and fell with every inhale and exhale. His skin tingled when the other would occasionally breathe in a bit deeper and he felt a bit weird when he thought about the fact that Chan was probably able to smell his hair too. 

  
“Are you comfortable?” He hummed almost inaudibly, trying to not disturb Minho who was already sleeping, fingers playing with the blanket as Chan glanced at him every few seconds. “You’re just not playing attention to the movie.” Felix could feel the other starting to run his fingers through his hair, playing with the strands, making him have to bite his lip to hold in his giggles. “Hyung, stop. Minho hyung’s asleep, I’ll wake him up.” 

  
Chan’s fingers dug deeper into his hair, rubbing against his scalp. Massaging it. The boy tilted his head to the side, shoulders falling and body relaxing once again. Minho shifted a bit but stayed sleeping, burrowing his nose into Felix’s knee. “Tired?” The boy shook his head, hair tickling Chan’s nose, making him laugh, but then he yawned unconsciously, the full day of excitement having tired him out, his eyes becoming heavier and mind hazier. The hand that was around his shoulder slipped down a bit lower, rubbing at his bicep before it was squeezed. 

  
“Do you want to sleep?” Felix shook his head and tried to chase away another yawn. “Can I finish the movie, hyung?” Chan almost cooed at that, fingers rubbing at the boy’s shoulders as he nodded his head, pulling the other to rest more against him. “Of course, but then straight to bed after brushing your teeth.” The other was being authoritative, but for once, it didn’t scare the boy. Felix could easily recognize the joking tone the other had and that he genuinely just wanted for him to have fun, so he simply leaned back into him more. 

  
“If you weren’t joking I’d think you’re my father.” Chan’s lips parted in surprise, eyes widening as he realized that this was the first time Felix had actually genuinely joked around with him. So he let out a few surprised chuckles and Jisung threw a pillow at the two of them while Changbin was still holding onto him. “Lixie, you’re cute, but please, shut Chan up, we’re trying to watch the movie.” The boy blushed at that, a shy smile on his face, while Chan grumbled under his breath about being disrespected again and that he deserved better. 

  
Felix could feel his eyes starting to drop as the ending credits rolled, Chan moving around, jolting him out of his slumber. He could feel hands wrapping around his shoulders and making him lean back into him until he felt like he was almost melting into the other’s chest, feeling warm as fingers rubbed against his shirt clad flesh. 

  
“Come on Lix, let’s get you cleaned up.” Felix tried to grumble in fight but his body felt heavy, brains hazy from exhaustion, eyes looking at the screaming numbers on the clock. 4:52 am. He had never stayed up this late and it almost gave him a rush of adrenaline as Chan tried to help him stand up, eyes crinkling into half moons and teeth peeking out from between his lips as he smiled. Minho whined at the loss of warmth and comfort under his cheek but quickly moved to lay on the couch, dragging the blanket on top of himself and falling back asleep in a record time of seconds. Felix looked back and saw Jisung and Changbin still cuddling against each other, tilting his head back as Chan tickled his side gently. “They’ll sleep in the living room too, the couch pulls out.” 

  
“Hyung? Where will I sleep?” Chan only laughed at that gently and shook his head, leading Felix by his shoulders to walk to the bathroom. The boy stared at the other with wide and curious eyes as he was given a toothbrush, Chan starting to brush his own teeth as he swayed on his feet, bumping into Felix’s side teasingly to get the boy to start cleaning up too. 

  
He peeked at the mirror shyly, watching Chan from the corner of his eyes as he spat the toothpaste out, feeling fingers ghosting over his left side, almost as if the other wanted to tickle him again. He could feel his stomach twisting and fingers twitching around the toothbrush, lips curling into a soft smile as he tried to fight the giggles away. Chan was being silly. 

  
But his eyebrows furrowed again, his question wasn’t answered. Where was he going to sleep? Unless Chan had another free room. “Here, take this towel for your face, do you want to take a shower?” Felix looked at the other with tired eyes, lips still curved into a gentle smile. “Okay, we don’t want you passing out in the shower, so not tonight.” 

  
The boy washed his face before Chan ushered him out of the bathroom, leading him to one of the rooms, closing the doors after the two of them. There was a double sized bed and a working table. The walls were painted a dark blue, decorated by pictures and shelves with books and old vinyls. Papers were spread over the desk with a computer placed in the center, a swiveling chair near it with some clothes throw on it. A walk in closet had it’s doors partly open, some clothes thrown on the ground but most of them neatly put away. 

  
“Didn’t really have the time to clean my room up.” Chan rushed to put some of the clothes away, Felix looking around the room again. The bedding was thrown on top of the bed messily, two pillows placed at the head of the matrass. Everything looked so different compared to how he lived. His parents would never let him decorate his walls, and he could never have even one piece of clothing anywhere except in the wardrobe if he didn’t want to be scolded. Something about him having to be neat all the time. But Chan’s room looked like it had more character, like it was more lived in. Even the smallest details gave it warmth. The small sunflower painted by the lightswitch and the fuzzy warm carpet near the bed. Everything screamed Chan and it made Felix’s insides tingle pleasantly. 

  
“Here, change into these clothes and get into the bed.” Felix raised one of his eyebrows in wonder as Chan, burning cheeks and a gentle smile, gave him shorts and a t shirt to sleep in, before getting out of the room. He had never seen the other embarrassed, this was a first. 

  
The shorts fell just above his knees, the cotton soft as it brushed against his flesh. And the t shirt was too big, the neckline wide enough to almost slip down from one of his shoulders when he moved a little bit too much. But he felt comfortable as he got into the bed, staying on the right side and he pulled the covers on top of himself. His brows were furrowed as he thought about Chan and where he was going to sleep. But it seemed like his questions were answered as a knock on the doors could be heard, a voice asking him if he could come inside. 

  
“Oh good, you’re already in bed,” Felix turned to lay on his back, looking at Chan. He had changed into sweatpants and a t shirt of his own, the muscles of his arms and chest showing, making the boy’s lips part in surprise. The two of them were as different and night and day, and Felix was excited to know someone so unique. “I only have one bedroom, so is it okay if we share a bed? Was planning to sleep on the couch but with Minho occupying it I’m left with the ground.” 

  
The boy’s eyes widened and he scrambled out of the bed on unsteady legs, stumbling and loosing his footing. Chan managed to run to him and catch him before he hit the ground, sitting the two of them down on the bed, keeping Felix on his lap and checking over him with worried eyes. “Lix, what was that?” The boy cast his gaze down, looking at the covers of the bed, fingers tugging at the soft material, playing with it. “I was bothering you. This is your bed.” Fingers carded through his hair, calming him down as Chan played with the strands again, pressing him closer to his chest for comfort. “Lixie, you weren’t bothering me. The bed’s big enough for the two of us, even Minho could join if he was still awake.” A but gladly he’s asleep was whispered and that made Felix giggle softly in response. 

  
“Are you sure?” Chan cooed at the younger boy again, pushing him away from his lap and onto the bed to make him lay down. “I’ve never been more sure about anything else. Now get under the covers so I could join you too.” Felix could feel his cheeks starting to burn at that, swiftly burrowing himself under the thick material and holding it up to his nose, peeking at the other as Chan shook his head and chuckled at him. He briefly closed his eyes as he could feel the matrass dip under their weight, The covers being moved as Chan settled down on the other side of the bed. 

  
Felix was too afraid to crack his eyes open, feeling his heart beating against his chest almost painfully, feeling the other stare at him. His pulse quickened as he clumsily turned onto his other side, so that his back would be facing Chan. “Lixie, are you okay?” The words sounded soft and guarded, almost like he was afraid to scare the other. Afraid that the boy was going to run away from him. And Felix simply hummed and nodded his head, heart slamming against his chest. 

  
“Can I hug you?” Now his heart was definitely slamming against his chest painfully, eyes wide open and full of surprise, lips parted in shock and confusion. “W – why?” His voice trembled as his fingers clutched onto the covers of the bed tightly, feeling Chan move a little bit behind him, but not too close to touch him, to hug him. “I just want to hug you. But I won’t if it will make you uncomfortable. I don’t want you to feel like you have to do something you’re not ready.” The corners of Felix’s lips twitched upwards a bit as his stomach tingled again, skin flushing a pretty shade of pink. He was still surprised whenever Chan acted so gentle with him. Almost like he had his own thoughts and his own wishes, that he could make his own decisions and could be trusted with them too. 

  
“Okay I guess.” Chan grumbled at that and didn’t move closer, fingers drumming over the sheets of the bed. “Only you guess?” Felix giggled at that, burrowing his face into the pillow to hide himself away in embarrassment.

  
“Yes, you can hug me.” Chan stayed silent, staring at the back of the other’s head, a wide grin making it’s way over his features, his dimple showing. His fingers twitched as he had to fight against himself to not hug the other tightly, to be cautious. He didn’t want to scare the boy away when he just started to warm up to him, when he just met Minho, Changbin and Jisung. He wanted to give him an opportunity to have actual friends and to have people he could trust, he could talk to without having to fear that they were going to scold him or won’t take him seriously. 

  
“Chanie hyung?” Felix’s voice sounded so small, so fragile, that the older male almost growled at that, at himself for being stupid and making the boy second guess his own decisions. Within a few seconds he had moved across the bed, wrapping his arms around the boy’s waist gently, feeling how the other tensed up against his chest. 

  
He almost regretted asking the other if he could hug him, but his skin tingled at the thought of having Felix pressed flush against him. The thought of sharing warmth and body heat with each other made Chan feel giddy, almost like he was back in high school and confessing to his crush, only to have his cheeks burn as his crush pressed a soft kiss upon them. He was about to move away, already started to unwrap his arms, when palms pressed up against his wrists, stopping him. 

  
Felix’s cheeks burned even more as he wrapped Chan’s arms back around his waist, back pressing into a hard chest, breathing a little bit deeper, unconsciously breathing in the scent of Chan on the pillow. “Lixie?” The voice was soft, the boy shuddering as a gentle puff of air hit the back of his ear, his skin tingling and a shiver going down his spine. “I was just surprised, please stay.” Felix tried to sound as strong as he could, his hands gripping onto the other’s wrist to keep his arm in place. 

  
Chan wanted to say something more, to ask the other again if he was actually comfortable, but the gentle sigh coming from Felix and the way he pressed himself even closer into him made him let out a satisfied laugh and nod his head in approval. “This is the first time I’m sleeping over at a friend’s place.” A low grumble left Chan’s mouth, arm pulling at Felix’s waist tightly in a protective manner. “What about sleepovers as a child?” The two of them stayed silent for a few moments, Felix staring at the wall as the older male burrowed his nose into his hair, breathing it the scent of his shampoo. 

  
“My parents wouldn’t let me sleepover at anyone’s even as a child.” “I’m really starting to dislike your parents at this point.” This was the first time he had expressed his distaste for them, always trying to keep the negative thoughts to himself, but now the boy had started talking about it himself, so Chan was not going to be holding back too. “I feel like it was just normal? I grew up like that, so I never actually thought that me never having sleepovers was something weird.” 

  
“Lixie? Can I ask you something?” The boy let out a soft hum, his fingers drumming over the back of Chan’s hand, stroking against the soft skin. “Why are your parents homeschooling you?” He could feel the boy tensing up against him, his breathing becoming a bit harsher, and Chan pressed his lips against the back of the other’s head, trying to calm him down. “Sorry Lixie, I shouldn’t have asked. Didn’t think it was going to freak you out.” 

  
Felix let out a soft whine as he could feel the other stroking his shoulder. Fingers rubbing into the muscles. “I, it’s okay hyung. I want to tell you.” His voice came out surprisingly strong, barely shaking and clear enough to be heard by the other. Chan squeezed his waist in encouragement, stomach twisting as he couldn’t help and feel himself worry about the other, overthinking everything and his mind going to dark places. 

  
“It’s mostly because my parents want me to be safe? They always say how dangerous Seoul is.” Chan nodded his head at that, nose rubbing against the other’s hair, making Felix giggle unconsciously. He could understand that, he knew how dangerous the city could be, but that didn’t give his parents any rights to keep him inside the house all the time against his will. “But had they ever had a reason to keep you inside?” 

  
His stomach twisted painfully as he could feel Felix tense up again. His worst thoughts came back to life. So there was a reason. Something must have happened before, for his parents to be this overprotective, this controlling. Felix gulped loudly and his arms shook as he tried to bury himself into the covers and Chan at the same time, stealing some of his warmth away. He didn’t want to remember the year of 2011 and what had happened, but he also trusted Chan enough to talk to him. So with his heart bleeding and lips trembling, he clenched his eyes shut and let the words slip out of him finally. 

  
“When I was eleven, still in Sydney, one of the teachers was a little bit weird.” Chan frowned at that, his brows furrowing in confusion, Felix staying silent after that in the other’s arms, half hoping that the other won’t ask for more yet in the back of his head still wishing for him to prob more, to try and figure him out. “Is it okay to ask how weird he was? Am I making you uncomfortable?” The boy hummed again, feeling a small tint of anxiety, but the warmth the other was giving him making him calm down again. 

  
“I’m not sure actually, I remember him paying more attention to me than to other students and he’d ask me to stay over after class.” Tension filled the room up, Chan having to fight back the growl of anger from leaving him. At the back of his head he already had an image painted, he kind of figure out what had happened, but he was too afraid to jump to actual conclusions. 

  
The two of them stayed silent for what felt like hours, Felix staring at the wall in front of him and Chan trying to control his breathing, fingers ghosting over the other’s bare stomach as the t shirt had moved and lifted up. The silence that surrounded them made the young boy feel awkward, he could almost sense that the other wanted to say something. But he opted to stay silent too, lips pulled into a straight line and nose scrunched up as he was deep in his thoughts. 

  
“Lixie? Are you asleep?” Chan almost wished that the other had fallen asleep by that point, then he wouldn’t have to face the reality. The boy in his arms moved a little bit, tilting his head as if he was trying to face him, but he just tightened his hold around him and kept him in place, pressed tightly against him as he tried to convince himself that he was safe while with him. 

  
The warm touch of Chan was slowly lulling Felix into relaxation, his muscles lax and brows relaxing. His lips parted as he pressed his cheek into the pillow, feeling the other’s nose being buried deep into his hair for comfort. “Did he hurt you?” The boy stayed silent. 

  
Chan started freaking out slowly. Felix had stayed silent for the past few minutes, not answering his question and it made him feel useless. He had probably made him remember whatever hell he had gone through and now the poor boy was going to have nightmares. Maybe he won’t want to see him again and Chan couldn’t actually blame him for that too. 

  
“I’m not sure?” Fingers pressed against his stomach a little bit closer, the pads rubbing into his skin, making his insides tingle pleasantly. “You can’t remember?” Felix shook his head, Chan letting out a sigh as he cuddled him a bit more, this time intertwining their legs so that one of his would be between the other’s, his sweatpants brushing against the boy’s skin softly. 

  
“My memories of when I was ten and eleven are very fuzzy. I can’t remember a lot of things.” Chan hummed at that, chest heavy and heart hurting for the other, eyes glossing over with a sheen as his arms started shaking. “It’s okay Lixie, I’m sorry for asking.” The boy shook his head at that, trying to turn around to face him, having to force the other to let him go in order to do that. “As strange as it is, I’m happy that you asked.” Felix was now facing him, looking at him with wide and searching eyes, full of hope yet still cautious. Chan would do anything to keep the sparkle there, to make sure that the newly found life didn’t go away. 

  
He carefully, slowly yet with determination, wrapped his arms around Felix’s waist again, pulling the boy closer, only a few centimeters in between their noses. The two of them looked deeply into each other’s eyes, searching for something there. 

  
Chan smiled knowingly after a few seconds, Felix’s eyes falling shut automatically as a pair of plush lips were pressed upon his forehead, staying there for a few seconds longer. The touch was gentle, fleeting, almost like it was not there, and it made his stomach tingle again. The skin where the lips had touched burned pleasantly, making him smile back too with his eyes still closed shut tightly. 

  
Felix felt safe as he was held in the other’s arms, curling his toes and pressing his knee against Chan’s, shyly curling his fingers into the t shirt of the curly haired male. “I just remember that he would call me his star. I think he liked to touch my chest too, at least I remember that much.” His voice cracked at the end from the nerves, fingers tugging at Chan’s t shirt and burrowing his face into the chest in front of him, feeling embarrassment and regret for admitting something like this. 

  
“Lixie, shh, don’t cry.” The boy almost whined at that, not even noticing when he had started to cry, pressing his face even closer, if that was possible, into the other. Fingers rubbed at the back of his neck, working against the tension there, trying to sooth him. The touch made him feel like he was melting into the other, his toes uncurling and curling up against, sniffing a little bit. 

  
The fingers moved up, tugging at his hair gently, guiding his head back so that he would once again be facing Chan. Felix clenched his eyes shut tightly, letting a few more tears slip away as the fingers of the other hand of Chan chased at them, brushing them away. “It’s okay Lixie. No one can hurt you as long as you have me.” The promise was whispered into the space of the room in such a gentle tone that Felix had to convince himself that he was not imagining it. But as he cracked his eyes open, tears clinging onto his damp eyelashes, Chan looked back at him with such a gentle expression that he knew he had not imagined. 

  
“Thank you Chanie hyung.” Thumbs rubbed under his eyes, wiping away the wetness as a gentle kiss was once again given to his forehead, making Felix relax completely into the other’s hold. Soft words were whispered into his skin as he could feel his consciousness slipping away, darkness surrounding him and sleep calling for him.

  
Sun shining through the windows woke him up the next morning, the other side of the bed empty as his hand searched the space. He could feel disappointment filling him up, eyes darting all around the room, breathing out a sigh as he at least knew that he spent the night in the room, that he hadn’t dreamt that part up. 

  
The dying hope started shining brighter as he heard voices outside of the room, forcing himself out of the bed, to crack the doors open, peeking out and being met with Jisung’s smiling face. “Lixie! Good morning! Or day!” The boy’s eyes widened as he was dragged out of the room and into the kitchen, Minho and Changbin sitting by the table as Chan stood in front of the stove. 

  
“Lix! Did you sleep well?” Minho smiled at him widely and Changbin waved at him as he dropped his head back onto the table, grumbling about being too tired. Chan spun around to face him and his eyes ran all over his face, searching for something. Felix looked right back at him, brows furrowed and arm wrapped around his own torso for comfort. Within seconds the waffles were forgotten and he had crossed the room, wrapping his arms around the boy, making Jisung step back with a gentle and knowing smile on his face. 

  
“Didn’t wanna wake you up because you looked cute when sleeping.” Felix blushed bright at that, burrowing his face into Chan’s chest, making him chuckle almost silently, squeezing his waist a little bit tighter. 

  
Third. Felix smiled shyly as a kiss was placed upon his forehead again, third in one day. Chan’s nose brushed against his hairline and he whispered words into his flesh. He had not dreamt any of last night up. 

  
“You won’t be hurt as long as I’m around.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m really trying hard not to rush Chanlix in here, also the reason was very easily guessed but also inspired by my friend! 
> 
> Come cry over stray kids on twitter with me because my irls could never stan kpop groups [glitterbokkie](https://Twitter.com/glitterbokkie)


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Like what?” Chan wanted to tease the boy, wanted to make him blush, finding it adorable when he did that. And Felix did burn a bright red, fingers playing with the hem of the hoodie he was wearing. “Hyung, you’re doing this on purpose.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am trying to update this story but somehow the quarantine is beating my ass.

Felix was sitting in his room anxiously, knee shaking as he gnawed at his bottom lip, fingers drumming over the surface of the table. His father was still home and it was nine in the morning, Chan having just entered the house. But that was not what he was nervous about, at least not the only thing. 

The boy was more worried about the fact that his father had told him that he was going to sit in on one of the lessons him and Chan were going to have. And he was freaking out because he was afraid that his father was going to notice the way the two of them had become really close or the way Chan treated him as more of a friend than a student. 

His hands were shaking as he stared at the notebooks on his table, hearing two sets of footsteps going up the stairs, his heartbeat picking up like crazy. He could pick up conversation going on, his father’s voice stern as he was asking something. 

His shoulders tensed up as the doors to his room were opened up, Chan greeting him gently, calling him Yongbok shi, making the boy wince silently. He hated it when the other had to call him like that, had to use his Korean name and pretend like they weren’t close, like Chan didn’t like to hold his hand as he wrote with his other one and as if Felix didn’t smile widely whenever he heard a knock on the doors of the house at nine in the morning. 

“Good morning father, Chan hyung.” He could sense that his father was not in a good mood from the way he had glanced around the room, looking at the few books that were thrown on his bed messily. “Clean up your room after Chan leaves, Yongbok, it’s a mess.” The boy caught Chan’s angry gaze, giving him a quick smile before he nodded his head at his father, bowing in respect. 

“I don’t have much time, but I wanted to check how your lessons are going.” His father stayed standing as Chan sat down on an extra chair they had placed in his room a few days ago, Felix gulping loudly as he opened the notebook of chemistry up with shaking fingers. He could feel the other placing his hand on his knee for a few seconds, giving him a soft squeeze before he whispered that he should calm down. 

“Let’s start with your homework I had assigned to you.” Chan was gentle as he spoke to him, Felix’s shoulder’s relaxing a little bit as his father watched the two of them. His fingers stroked over the pages of the notebook as his voice trembled, trying to sound stronger as he read through he scribbled down answers. 

Chan’s hand stroked over his thigh, the view hidden away from his father’s eyes, the two of them sharing a quick glance as Felix whispered that he was done, waiting to be scolded for making a mistake. 

“Seems like you’ve been making progress, surprisingly.” Felix flinched at that, wanting to curl up into himself after the backhanded compliment, Chan having to fight against himself to not hiss at the adult in anger. He could see how nervous the boy was, how he had shown anxiety the moment his father had stepped inside of his room.

“Chan?” The boy turned to face Felix’s father, relaxing his face to not show his clear discomfort and frustration. “Yes sir?” He could see a faint smile over the man’s features, a clear approval of the respect he was given. “Make sure that Yongbok learns a lot, I trust you to teach him everything he will need to enter a good university.” 

The mentioned boy was looking at his father in confusion, brows pulled into a straight line as he bowed in respect out of instinct, staying like that until he went out of the room, saying that he was going to go to work and that Yongbok’s money was on the table. Felix turned his head to Chan in surprise, lips parted and skin flushed. 

“Hyung? What did my father mean?” Chan smiled at him widely, making Felix relax completely as the hand moved from his knee to rest on his thigh, rubbing it in comfort. “What would you say if I told you that you just passed a test and your father let me take you to an overnight workshop again?” Felix’s eyes widened, lips stretching into a wide smile, cheeks flushing a soft shade of pink. “I’d ask where are we going for real?” 

Chan ruffled his hair gently, letting out a soft chuckle as he closed the notebook for him. “I’d tell you that I’m taking you to my university to meet my friend and then taking you out to dinner.” Felix let the other stroke his hair, humming in comfort as his neck was rubbed gently. “But overnight?” 

“Minho might have begged me to drag you to see him perform tonight.” Felix jumped in excitement at that, pulse quickening as Chan wrapped his arms around his waist, pulling him into his chest tightly, swaying them side to side. “But only if you want to, I don’t want to overwhelm you, Lix.” The boy smiled into his chest, nuzzling his nose a little bit into his sweater as he nodded his head, fingers clutching onto the material. 

“I want to go, please.” He could feel fingers combing through his hair, twirling the strands around before Chan tugged at them gently, making Felix raise his head up to look at him. Their noses were almost touching, puffs of air hitting their lips as they stared into each other’s eyes for a few seconds, Felix glancing down and unconsciously gulping as he looked at his lips. 

Chan had to force himself to look away as Felix’s eyes sparkled with curiosity, giving him another squeeze on his shoulder before he looked back at the table, nudging the boy to pay attention too. “Come on Lix, let’s get the lessons done and then we can go meet my friend.” The boy nodded his head enthusiastically, excitement filling him up as he read through the questions, Chan standing behind him, not paying attention to the text, only looking at Felix’s shoulders, smiling to himself. 

“Hyung? Can you help me with this please?” Chan snapped out of his thoughts, smiling back at Felix and leaning in closer, looking over him to be able to read the question. He could feel the boy’s warmth seeping through his sweater, warming him up, and his insides twisted pleasantly, Felix’s hair brushing against the side of his neck, making him let out a soft chuckle. He played it off as a cough and shook his head. 

“You’re actually doing this correctly. You should add this, just how you wrote down, and it will be correct.” Felix awarded him with a wide smile, eyes sparkling in joy as his skin seemed to glow, eyelashes curling and brushing against his eyelids every time he blinked. Chan couldn’t help and coo at him, finding the other really cute without even having to try hard. “You should believe in yourself more.” 

The boy let out a soft sigh as he gave Chan a nod, knowing that the other wanted nothing more but for him to have more confidence in himself. Felix leaned backwards, resting the back of his head against Chan’s chest, feeling it raise and fall, closing his eyes briefly. “Lix? Just a few pages more and we’ll be done with the lesson, okay?” The boy nodded his head in response, nuzzling back into the warm chest and sweater.

“Come on, let’s learn a bit and then go and eat something for lunch, and then we’ll meet my friend –“ “Promise?” Chan laughed at the gentle tone of the other, brushing his fingers against the side of the boy’s neck in a reassuring manner. “Yes, now let’s finish up fast and then we can go have fun.” 

  
Felix could almost feel a headache starting as he finally closed the notebook, Chan laying on his bed, hair messy and a tired smile on his face. “So I was not expecting this to take this long. We have an hour before we have to meet Woojin.” The boy looked at him in interest, already having put away the books neatly. “Woojin?” “It’s the name of my friend, he’s the one who helped me cover for you when I wanted to take you to the club to see me perform.” His lips stretched into an even wider smile, remembering the three boys rapping and Minho staying by his side, the two of them laughing in excitement for hours. 

“Change your clothes and I’ll quickly make us some food.” Felix blushed as Chan’s fingers brushed against his cheek, looking at him softly before he nudged him closer to the wardrobe, rushing out to make some food for them. The boy stared at the doors for a few seconds, dazed but happy, before he turned to look at his clothes, searching through the jackets and sweaters. Felix’s eyebrows shot up in surprise as he found a dark red hoodie hidden behind the hung up sweaters, the clothing too big for him, a logo on the chest. 

The boy looked a little bit closer, eyes widening in surprise when he recognized the name. 3racha. Chan had left his hoodie in his room at some point, but Felix didn’t remember ever putting it in his wardrobe. Excitement filled him up as his fingers ran over the soft material, tugging it on over his plain grey t shirt, skin tingling as cotton brushed against it. He decided to go for a pair of loose fitting jeans, Chan having told him that he looked cute with oversized clothes. What he didn’t know was that the other didn’t tell him that he looked good in his clothes specifically. 

The stairs cracked loudly under his feet as he made his way downstairs, hearing Chan singing softly to a song from all the way down the hallway. He watched him for a few moments, the way he swayed to the gentle beat and flipped the pancake in the pan. There were some berries placed on two plates, two cups of water just in case. “Hyung, are we eating pancakes?” Chan yelped at that loudly, jumping in surprise and gripping onto his chest tightly. “Lix! Don’t scare me like that! I didn’t even hear how you walked in.” 

Felix giggled at that gently, settling down on a chair and watching as Chan turned to him, smiling as he placed the pancake in his plate. He remembered trying them once, were they called crepes? He remembered his aunt making them for him back in Sydney. “Do you not like them?” The boy shook his head at that, eyes filled with happiness looking back at the other. “I love them!” Felix took his time chewing the food up, mouth salivating as he bit down into a strawberry. Chan sat down next to him, chin proped on his hand as he chewed slowly and looked at him eating. 

His own eyes were curved in joy as he took notice of the way the boy was smiling as he finished the pancakes, rubbing his stomach in content. “Were they good?” Felix nodded his head enthusiastically, licking at his lips after he gulped the water down, waiting at the table for Chan to finish his food up. “Lix, go brush your teeth and we’ll go then.” 

He didn’t have to be told twice, placing his plate in the sink, Chan pushing him to the side gently and telling him that he was going to clean and to go and get ready. Felix glanced back at him once, giving him a quick hug, surprising Chan, leaving him with a stunned expression on his face. 

His fingers were gripping onto the toothbrush tightly as he brushed his teeth, cheeks burning as he had to shake his head to stop thinking about the way it felt to wrap his arms around Chan. It was just a friendly hug, they were friends? Friends hugged each other and made each other feel comfortable. But then an image of Changbin and Jisung flashed in front of his eyes. 

The lingering touches and gentle whispers the two shared. The way Changbin almost always had his arm around the other and the way Jisung would simply snuggle up into his side closely whenever he felt like it. 

Felix smiled gently as he remembered Jisung and the way the boy clung onto him in the morning before Chan had to take him back home. He had to promise the boy that he was going to meet up with him again, Minho quickly pipping in that he was going to have to meet him again too. Changbin stood by the side but still smiled at him gently, ruffling his hair, whining when Minho had teased him that he was so short he was going to have to stand on his tiptoes to reach anyone’s head. 

“Lix?” The boy peeked his head out through the doors, looking at Chan who was standing in the hallway, calling for him. “Are you ready? We should get going.” He was holding Felix’s backpack in one hand while the other was holding up a jacket for him. Felix tilted his head to the side unconsciously, not recognizing the piece of clothing. “This isn’t mine?” Chan chuckled at that, motioning for him to come closer. “I know, it’s mine, thought it would look good on you.” 

The dark brown aviator jacket was placed over his shoulders, Felix slipping his arms into the sleeves, the faux fur warming him up fast. A bright yellow beanie was placed on his head, hair being tucked inside, thumbs brushing against his cheeks, stroking over his freckles, Chan’s eyes running all over them, trying to count them up. 

“Hyung?” Chan shook his head, a dimple showing as he ushered him outside, giving him his backpack, Felix locking the doors up after the two of them. “Come on, Woojin’s already free and waiting for us inside the campus.” The doors were held open for him, the boy settling into the passenger’s seat, sun shining brightly down on them through the glass. Fingers squeezed his thigh for a few seconds before the engine was turned on, Chan pulling out of the driveway and into the street. 

Felix looked out of the window in amazement as the view changed, houses being replaced with tall buildings, and then a park and a complex of buildings, Chan telling him that they were in a university campus. The two of them got out of the car, the boy looking around with curious eyes, students rushing around, some talking while standing around, checking through their phones and sitting on benches. 

There was a statue in the middle of the square, pathways going around to different buildings, the main one at least four stories. There were flowers and looked after bushes by the benches, Felix’s lips parted in shock as he took in the way life buzzed around him. 

“Woojin’s waiting for us inside, do you wanna go in?” Chan laughed softly when the other nodded his head enthusiastically, eyes drinking in everything. They stopped at the stairs, Felix looking around, reading the information on the silver plate mounted to the wall. The doors opened up as they walked inside, the interior modern, art pieces placed in well thought out places, reminding the boy of the museum they went to. 

“This is the arts department. Anything art, from performing to painting, you’ll find the courses here.” Felix’s eyes sparkled with interest as he looked around again, looking at the sculptures and paintings, students with different styles walking around, minding their business. Chan took his hand in his gently, drawing the boy’s attention to himself again. “Let’s go meet Woojin, he’ll show us around more.” 

He let Chan lead him through a few hallways, watching as he greeted some students, stopping in front of one who had been waving at him from afar. “Chan! You’re late.” “Sorry Wooj, got distracted a bit, but we are here now!” Felix felt shy as he could feel the stranger looking at him, hiding behind the other. 

“You must be Felix? I’m Woojin, nice to finally meet you!” Felix tugged at Chan’s jacket unconsciously, drawing a gentle laugh out of Woojin who was watching the two of them, giving Chan a teasing look. “H – hi, I’m Felix.” 

Chan could feel the other starting to tremble from anxiety, turning a bit to give Felix’s wrist a gentle squeeze. “Do you want Woojin to show us around a bit?” The boy hesitated but still nodded his head as an answer, ducking his head low when he heard soft chuckles. “Chan was right, you’re really adorable.” 

Felix blushed at that, Chan wrapping his arm around his shoulder. “He’s the cutest, right?” Woojin agreed without any fight, turning to look down the hallway, smiling widely. “How about I show you the stage?” This captured the boy’s attention, Felix looking right at him in interest. “The stage?” Both males smiled at him in response. “Yeah, theatre and acting majors usually have lectures there, we have performances there every few months too.” 

“Is Minho hyung performing there tonight?” Woojin shook his head with a smile, Chan shushing him as he started laughing. “No, he’s performing in a dance competition in a club, but he’s performing here next month, and he’ll definitely want you to come see him.” Felix could feel himself getting excited already, the thought of having people who wanted to see him making his insides burn pleasantly. 

Woojin led them to stand in front of tall doors that were cracked open, peeking his head inside. He greeted a few students who were practicing for a play, motioning for both Chan and Felix to follow inside after him. “This is where we performing arts majors live, spend our days and nights in here, this is where you can always find us.” 

He watched with interest as Woojin talked to the students on stage, laughing a bit with them, Chan staying by his side, his arm still wrapped around his shoulder for comfort. The theatre major jogged back to them with a wide smile painted over his features. “Say, do you want to watch us act out a play we’re practicing for right now?” Felix could feel his fingers twitching and he looked at the other, asking Chan for approval.

“We can do anything you like, Lix.” The boy almost shouted out an excited yes, blushing in embarrassment as the other students looked at them. Chan led him to sit on a chair in the front row, settling down by his right, motioning for him to look at the stage where Woojin was already in the center, getting into his role. Felix’s shoulders relaxed as the students started talking loudly, emotions in check, acting out their parts. 

  
Chan’s chest was filled with warmth as the three of them sat in a restaurant, Woojin and Felix talking about the boy’s major in hushed whispers, both clearly enjoying themselves. Two plates full with sushi rolls were on the table, green tea served for them, chatter all around the place. 

“Have you ever tried sushi before?” Felix blushed in embarrassment as Woojin asked him the simple question, shy and cautious, what if he was going to make fun of him? He knew that Chan would be understanding, but he wasn’t too sure about the others. “Here, try this one.” A roll was placed in front of his lips, Woojin waiting for him to open his mouth, Chan sipping on the tea, listening to their conversation, happy that the two of them were getting along well. 

Felix coughed a bit as he chewed with his mouth full, the taste of salmon gentle on his tongue, humming in approval. “It’s really good.” He managed to whisper out before another roll was pressed to his lips, this time by Chan, nudging him to have more food. “We’re going straight to the club after this, Minho’s nervous so we’re supposed to give him a pep talk.” Felix looked at Woojin expectedly “Hyung, are you also coming with us?” That made the older male laugh warmly. “Do you want me to? If so, then yes.” 

The boy giggled shyly and nodded his head, Chan giving Woojin a half hearted glare for taking most of his attention. “Minho would kill me either way if I didn’t show up.” 

Woojin chuckled silently as Chan rubbed his fingers over Felix’s shoulder, raising one of his eyebrows up teasingly. The two of them had a staring contest, a waitress coming over to ask them if they needed anything else. “Lix, do you want dessert?” The boy snapped his head to the side, midway through chewing a sushi roll, eyes wide and chopsticks mid air. “Do you want dessert? We still have time.” The boy glanced at Woojin in question, getting a nod I approval and a gentle smile, nodding back at Chan. 

“What would you recommend?” The waitress smiled at the three of them, naming all the desserts they had, pointing out two specific ones that she personally liked the best and knew that it was popular with the customers too. “Okay, Lix, how about the Daifuku?” Felix simply nodded at that, not really having a clue what it was, but if Chan liked it then he was willing to try it too. “Three servings of Daifuku then, thank you.” The waitress bowed at them, Woojin giving her a smile before turning back to Felix.

“You’re gonna fall for Minho the moment you see him dance.” Chan let out a sigh at that, already regretting everything in his life, knowing how charming the mentioned boy was without even trying. “I already saw him dance.” Felix had to hold in his giggles as the other two looked at him in surprise, then sharing a glance before looking back at him again. “You did?” 

“Yes, when hyung took me so I could see him and his friends rap.” Woojin looked at Chan with amusement clearly written all over his features, taking pleasure in the other shooting himself in his foot every single time. “Wait, is that why you were laughing so much in the car after?” Felix nodded his head and then bit down onto his bottom lip. “Yes, but also because Jisung was feeding his fries to me whenever Changbin hyung turned to look at us, it was cute.” 

“Jisung has taken a liking to you.” Felix smiled at that widely, eyes crinkling up into crescent moons, making Chan melt from inside. He swore the boy would only have to blink at him once and he would agree to do anything he wanted. “Minho too. I’ve never seen him be so cuddly with anyone this quick since Changbin.” The boy tilted his head to the side in confusion, Woojin patting his shoulder. “The two of them might not say it but they’re best friends, they’d kill for each other.” 

The waitress came with their desserts, placing a plate in front of each of them, Felix looking at the sweets, amazed. He had never seen anything close to this, his parents always telling him that sugar was bad for his body, that he needed to be healthy and eat for it too. 

“Come on Lix, take a bite.” Chan encouraged him as he took one of the sweets into his mouth, Felix following right after, cheek bulging out and eyebrows almost shooting up to his hairline. He had expected the taste to be overwhelmingly sweet, but it was subtle, a strawberry in the middle, surrounded by something sweet and red, maybe red bean paste? And then covered in what he could only guess was something close to mochi. “How’s the taste?” 

“I like it. It’s not too sweet.” Woojin snorted at that, Chan hitting him over his shoulder. “Then you really shouldn’t try white chocolate, it’s gonna make you puke.” The boy cringed at that, shuddering at the thought of puking, Chan hissing at the other to shut up before he scared the boy away, at least to continue after they finish dessert. 

  
Felix was standing in front of painted over doors in the club, Chan and Woojin by his sides, talking to each other as they waited for anyone to open them up. His palms were sweaty and stomach twisting, what if Minho was just being polite when he invited him? He had enjoyed his company and bright smile, but what if the dancer hadn’t actually liked him as much as Chan had insisted that he did? What if he was just trying to make him feel better about himself? Felix wanted to turn around and run out of the building, to run outside and into the cold air, to stop his chest from hurting and his fingers from twitching nervously. 

But he didn’t have enough time to think, or rather overthink, because the doors were slammed open, a widely smiling Minho standing in front of him, Changbin and Jisung right behind the dancer. “You came!” Felix let out a surprised yelp as he was pulled into a tight hug, Minho’s arms coming to wrap around his waist, squeezing him tightly, making him let out a breathy giggle in response as he wrapped his own arms around the other cautiously. Changbin waved at him from behind the dancer, giving him a sweet smile, Jisung loudly exclaiming that he wanted to hug his new friend too. 

“Ji, let me have this, I’m a nervous wreck and I need a pep talk.” The boy grumbled but stepped back, letting Minho tug Felix into the dressing room, Chan and Woojin following in after wards. The boy was sat down on a small couch, Jisung automatically joining him on his right, Changbin letting out a loud chuckled at that, thinking the two boys were cute together. 

“Okay, does my outfit look good?” Minho twirled around in-front of the couch, Felix’s eyes taking in the tight pants he was wearing and the over sized shirt that was almost see through, hair messed up on purpose and eyes sparkling because of the light eyeshadow, lips glossy and pretty. He was confused on why the other would ask him for an opinion. “You look nice, hyung. But why would you ask me?” 

Chan groaned and almost slapped his own forehead when he saw the way Minho had smiled widely at the compliment. Now he was going to have to fight back not only Jisung, but also Minho when it came to the attention of the boy. “It’s because these idiots don’t have any sense of fashion and you’re cute.” Jisung let out an offended scoff and clung onto Felix’s arm, making the boy smile back at him. 

“Well, I still think you look good, hyung.” Minho grinned at that even wider if it was possible, feeling a little bit braver. “Okay, I have to stretch, so everyone, get out and go cheer for me when I’ll be dancing.” 

Changbin helped Felix and Jisung up from the couch, Woojin offering to buy them all drinks as Minho shut the doors closed. Chan was already making his way to the bar, Woojin by his side in a few seconds, saying that the other three were going to be by the circle where the dancers were going to be performing. “Get the children cocktails, Felix is definitely not used to it and Jisung shouldn’t get drunk, Changbin’s taking him on a date tomorrow morning.” 

Chan leaned against the bar table, Woojin looking around. “Can we get two mojitos and three beers?” “Really Chan, beers?” He nudged the other to the side, paying for the drinks. “Bin’s not gonna want to get too drunk too, so let’s just hang out tonight.” Woojin agreed with that easily, taking two beers and Chan balancing three drinks without much effort. 

Jisung and Felix were looking at the people dancing, just some couples who were already drunk, and Changbin was standing behind them, already seeing Chan and Woojin making their way back to them with their drinks. “A beer for us, and mojitos for you two.” The two boys stared at the drinks before Jisung laughed loudly, explaining that he didn’t even like mint before sipping on the cocktail, letting out a sigh. 

Felix nursed the glass in his hands as Chan stood by his side, close enough for him to feel his warmth. Woojin was talking to Changbin, Jisung loudly proclaiming that Minho was making his way to the circle. 

The music in the club stopped, a guy talking loudly and presenting the dancers, Felix’s nose scrunching up as some were acting too stuck up, already thinking that they were going to win. And Minho just smiled prettily and waved at his friends when he was introduced, just wanting to have fun, trying to forget about his nerves. 

Changbin let out a loud cheer for the dancer as he was called to the center of the circle, making Woojin let out an embarrassed sigh as people turned around to look at them. Felix pressed himself closer to Chan’s side, trying to keep his cheeks from burning brightly. Minho threw a finger heart in their direction as a song started playing, his eyes focusing and the gentle smile shifting into a confident smirk, a shiver going down Felix’s spine. 

As the beat traveled, Minho moved to it fluidly, making Felix think of water and fire, dancing around each other. One second his moves would be flowing and soft, the next they would shift to precise and cutting, making the boy gasp loudly whenever Minho would shift around. 

Chan gave his hip a squeeze as Minho’s dance finished, reminding him that he needed to breathe to survive. People shouted in excitement and clapped for the dancer, Changbin hooting loudly, this time Woojin and Jisung joining in. Felix let out a loud yelp as Minho barreled into him and Chan, wrapping his sweaty arms around the two of them. “I thought I was going to stumble and embarrass myself at any point.” 

Woojin laughed at that and clapped the other over the back of his neck. “You know you were amazing, you always are.” 

Minho laughed loudly as Changbin hugged him tightly, apologizing for having to leave because he already had plans made for him and Jisung early in the morning. “It’s okay, I actually have something going on with Hyunjin, he’s waiting for me already.” Felix’s ears perked up at that, Woojin cooing at him being adorable. “Minho’s had a crush on Hyunjin for a year already, we were all hoping they were going to hook up at some point.” 

The boy’s cheeks flushed brightly at that, Minho letting out a loud shut up before he swooped in to hug Chan and Felix, avoiding Woojin’s arms as revenge. “Hyung? Would it be possible to teach me some dance moves too?” Minho halted in his movements, wide eyes meeting Chan’s before an even wider smile made it’s way over his features. “Lixie, are you interested in dance?” The boy nodded his head while looking down shyly. “Ask Chan for my number and then text me! I’d love to teach you how to dance!” 

The dancer was already almost out of the club as he threw a wink in his direction, Chan shaking his head with a glint of entertainment in his eyes. “I’m gonna be going too, Felix, it’s was really nice to meet you, I hope we’ll become close friends too.” Woojin gave the boy a quick hug, surprising him and then almost barreling into Chan as he tried to give him one too. 

“Hyung? Are we going to stay here?” Chan looked at Felix for a few moments, thinking that he still looked cute, wearing his oversized hoodie and with curious eyes, smiling widely as if he had no worries for the first time. “Do you want to?” The boy hesitated, looking around, now that the dance competition was done and people started dancing together again, he didn’t feel the excitement anymore. “We can go back to mine, order a pizza and watch a movie.” “Could we?” 

Chan laughed at that and nodded his head, leading the boy to take their jackets and then to the car he had parked, knowing that with only one bottle of beer drunk, he was sober enough to drive safely. 

  
The apartment was silent, apart from the sounds coming from the TV and occasional chuckling from Chan and giggles from Felix, the two of them sharing a cheese pizza as they tried to focus on the movie. But they found it difficult. Chan would glance at the boy every few seconds, not being able to get over how cute he actually looked when he was just being himself, eyes sparkling with life and lips curled into a genuine smile. And Felix could feel that the other was watching him too, the tightness in his stomach pleasant. 

“Hyung?” Chan hummed as a response, not even trying to look away from the boy, not hiding away that he was staring. “Why are you looking at me like that?” 

“Like what?” Chan wanted to tease the boy, wanted to make him blush, finding it adorable when he did that. And Felix did burn a bright red, fingers playing with the hem of the hoodie he was wearing. “Hyung, you’re doing this on purpose.” 

“And what if I am?” He leaned in a little bit, nose brushing against the boy’s skin, moving up a bit a press his lips against Felix’s forehead. “You’re just very cute and I can’t help but want to kiss you –“ “But hyung, you already kiss me every time.” Chan chuckled at that, his stomach twisting because of nerves as he moved down a bit, so that their noses would be almost touching and he would be looking the other right in his eyes. “What if I want to kiss you right now?” 

“Do it?” The boy was confused, waiting for another kiss upon his cheek, maybe forehead again, but Chan kept on staring at him, and Felix let out a soft gasp in realization. The other was looking at his lips. 

“Lixie, can I kiss you?” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also this was supposed to have four chapters?? Now there will be six because I cannot shorten anything apparently. Hopefully I did not speed through the story too much!!

**Author's Note:**

> As always, no editing because head's empty, hope you enjoyed it! I'm trying to write Felix out as sheltered but not too naive too. Like someone who hasn't seen a lot of the world but still has developed himself somewhat as a person.


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